


Ouji no Jidai: Shiryou

by AnneLaurant, ZarahXan



Category: Shaman King (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Embedded Images, Fan Sequel, Friendship, Gen, Supernatural - Freeform, slice-of-life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:35:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25888948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnneLaurant/pseuds/AnneLaurant, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZarahXan/pseuds/ZarahXan
Summary: It's the year 2015. Things were still the same since the new Shaman King was crowned. Global warming was still on the rise, money still ruled the world, and another Asakura boy leads his ragtag gang to fight an elusive group of shamans who are against the Shaman King's rule.Canon compliant with SK main.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Ouji no Jidai: Shiryou

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings:** Contains canon/OC, OCs being friends with canon characters, mostly disregards SKF continuum canon
> 
>  **Related Works:** [Flowers and Oranges](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687336), which takes place before the main canon of this universe.

It was the year 1999. Asakura Yoh was a 14-year-old boy who had the strange and wondrous ability to see spirits and communicate with them. One night, he bore witness to the coming of the twin comets. At that tender age, he was plunged into fighting for the sake of the world. Together with his friends Tao Ren, Usui Horohoro, Umemiya Ryu, Lyserg Diethel, Johann Faust VIII, and Chocolove McDonnel, supported by Yoh's then-fiancee Anna and the rest of the main Asakura house, Yoh succeeded the tests of the Patch Village, went to America, and faced his murder-happy twin, the latest incarnation of the founder of the Asakura House, Asakura Hao, in the name of being hailed as the world's newest Shaman King.

However, Yoh didn’t exactly win that last battle. In fact, Hao was the one who became Shaman King! Because no one else could match up to his power! But tremendous power means nothing in the face of friendship. Yoh, along with everyone he cared for, which meant the entire body of the Shaman Fight participants and hosts, along with his spirit friends from the first arcs of the story, went up to Hao and befriended the lonely king. And for the first time in so long, Hao was no longer so cruel…

Or something like that. Why would you call your Uncle God not cruel, when he just started your day by spelling out “Asakura Hana sucks” in the sky?

“ _Goooooood!_ ” Hana yelled as he furiously stomped on the arrows and got a ‘ _Perfect!_ ’ for each step. “Why do you haaaaaaate meeeeeeeeeeee?!”

“Watch out, tiger; I’m winning.”

“ _Uwaaaaaaarrrgggh!!!_ ”

 **Current setting:** an arcade nearby Shinra Private Academy, Funbari Hill.

 **Current time:** sometime in Fall 2015, just a few minutes after school.

 **Characters:** Asakura Hana, and his friend and housemate, Kuuhaku.

_Stomp-stomp-stomp! Dash-dash-dash!_ The two boys synced their eyes and legs perfectly. On extra-hard mode, the DDR machine played “One-Eyed Dancer” and recorded the boys’ progress as they accumulated point after point. It was hard to see who would win, and Fujisaki Aoi was filming the event as closely as possible.

“We’re still neck-and-neck!” Aoi announced, “Who will win?! Asakura Hana-kun, or Asakura Kuuhaku-kun?!”

And the arcade crowd answered: “The blondie!” “The cool guy!” “The little twerp!” “The handsome guy!”

And Hana yelled in the middle of his match, “Don’t call me little!”

Welcome to the present! Despite the SF having taken place and the new Shaman King taking reign, things were still the same about 16 years ago. And by same, that meant no radical change at all. Global warming was still on the rise, money still ruled the world, and boys were still boys.

It was no wonder that both Hana and Kuuhaku held onto the machines after their very intense DDR session. The crowd gave them an applause and even handed some money to Aoi, who was then trying to post the video on Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram. It was sure to be a viral hit: a short guy yelling while damning god for some unknown reason, on a DDR match with a tall and cool-looking dude, while the DDR machine played some OST from cult classic Yakuza Zero.

“Aoi!” Hana growled through his panting. “Don’t…! Forget! Swear to me! Upon your mole!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” His classmate nodded. “You’ll get the money, don’t worry.”

Kuuhaku, though tired himself, gracefully stepped off the machine and swiped a towel across his face and neck. “So what’s up with damning god again?” he asked as he let his hair loose and began combing it into twin tails. “…besides… this morning.”

Hana answered, “He kept dropping a lot of things on my head throughout the day! …well, it wasn’t dangerous stuff, but people now think I’m cursed!”

“Uh-huh. But that’s kind of like evasion training, right?”

“Training or not, I’m gonna become an urban legend at this rate, which will undoubtedly leopardize our investigation.”

“ _Jeo_ pardize.” Aoi casually corrected.

Hana nodded in agreement. “What he said.”

Aoi replayed the video on his phone. He tipped his head from side to side. “Are you guys sure you’re not related?”

“Uh, yeah?” “Yep. I’m sure.”

“You’re so in jive with each other, like you almost read each other’s minds and movements. But you’re not cousins or brothers by birth?”

Hana sighed. “Nope. Just Kuu being homeless and dad being dad, picking up strays. I’m even surprised he returned empty-palmed from the Middle East.”

“Huh.”

Just then, two more students from Shinra Private Academy strutted into the arcade, bearing notes in their hands. Hana shot his hand out and waved.

“Hiya, Fiance-kun~!” greeted Alumi Niumbirch to Hana, “And Nature Boy. And Bluebell.”

Kuuhaku regarded her slightly, while Aoi grimaced at the nickname.

“Hey, Hana-kun,” greeted Asakura Yohane, Hana’s cousin, “Alumi-san and I just got wind of an interesting urban legend.”

Hana got up and tottered out of the arcade house. It was time for business.

“So, about that video…”

Aoi cleared his throat and Hana grinned at his friend.

“Ah, just send me the link or something. And tell me if it’s gotten 20k views!”

Aoi shrugged and went on his way.

Anyway, it was time for business, and the rest of Hana’s gang collected themselves by the grassy riverbank. Hana lay upon the grass with Yohane sitting next to him. Alumi stood, flipping through her notebook, while Kuuhaku was in the river, trying to catch fish.

“So what’s this new urban legend all about?” Hana asked.

“Well, it targets kids; that’s the gist,” Alumi summarized, “And this one is highly likely to be real. Yohane and I even interviewed a bunch of people for you.”

“That’s right!” Yohane confirmed as he handed photos to Hana. “We’ve gotten some pictures of the so-called sightings!”

Hana looked through the images. There were dark, blurry figures smudged over unknowing children. He cocked his head. “Who took these photos??”

“We got them from locals in the area. A lot of people are hobbyist photographers now, remember?” Thanks to technology and social media!

“…yeah, go on.”

Yohane continued for them. “This youkai was supposedly born from a shrine that tried to appease murdered people’s spirits. It takes the form of a snake-woman and she usually targets kids, because supposedly, only kids can see her, and those who see her give her power. The rumors even say she steals their bones so they can’t escape!”

Kuuhaku emerged from the water, having caught a fish in his mouth like a cat. “Uh bom-shtealing shnake wumam?” Not-so-surprisingly, the fish wriggled out of his mouth and splashed back into the water. Oh, well.

“Aaand, this is supposed to make me feel alarmed?” Hana yawned.

Alumi clarified, “Well, Fiance-kun, F-Y-I, we’ve found leads of missing children from schools. Supposedly, they’re usually the ones who their classmates won’t always miss, but they’re still kids and the school management notices that. Schools don’t want a tarnished reputation, and they sure as heck don’t want lawsuits from angry parents.”

“I’m still not that worried, though.”

“In that case, remember: you - have - a - little - sister!”

* * *

At the very moment, a genius nine-year-old boy - and not just any genius nine-year-old boy! A genius nine-year-old high school boy going by the name Tao Men leaned against a tree outside of Shinra’s grade school department, waiting for his friend, Asakura Yona, to arrive from her club meeting. He tinkered and played with his iPatch, looking up every so often to see if Yona was already there.

Who would know? Amidamaru, Bason, and Shamash would know. Amidamaru was Hana’s spirit guardian, but Hana often sent him to guard his little sister Yona, like what was happening right now. And Bason, Men’s own spirit guardian, was doing his best to calm the little young master down. Shamash, Men’s other spirit guardian, only watched silently.

‘I’m sure Hana-dono will throw a fit,’ Amidamaru thought as he watched Bason assure Men over and over, ‘But having them hang out together is good for both Yona-dono and Men-dono. They don’t have many friends their age!’

Then, Men stiffened, easily giving out the fact that Yona was, indeed, there already. Oh, how could she not be adored? She had a little ribbon nearly tied on the top of her head, and her hair style made it seem like the shape of her head was a star. Not only that, her eyes were always so kind, and her voice was very gentle.

“I’m sorry!” Yona apologized, “Our club meeting took long!”

“I-it’s okay! I was studying for the advanced class anyway!”

While he was closer to her age, Men was way smarter and he was accelerated to Hana’s grade. Even so, both Bason and Amidamaru knew that was a lie - Men had spent his time waiting for Yona outside the school, even if his ice cream-like hair would melt under the afternoon sun.

 _He-he_ , how cute!

* * *

Back to Hana, meanwhile, he followed Alumi and Yohane to the area the youkai supposedly frequented, which was pretty much everywhere around the neighborhood, from the looks of it. Kuuhaku, who was still a bit damp from river water, lagged behind and tried surveying the area around them.

“Huh. If the youkai only supposedly targets kids that make her feel vulnerable, why is she picking on kids who seem innocent?” Kuuhaku mumbled.

“Wassat?” Hana asked.

“While they’re nobodies in school, these kids can’t be shamans either, because if they were, they could’ve protected themselves somehow. But the pictures provide evidence that they can’t see spirits at all. Which is why, I’m thinking… I’m thinking this is suspicious, and this is a targeted crime.”

Alumi and Yohane stopped walking. Both of them turned around with a knowing smile.

“Exactly!” Alumi piped.

“You’re right, Kuuhaku-kun!” Yohane agreed. “Which is why this has to be the work of a soul swiper!”

Their spirit guardians appeared. The vagabond swordsman Oboro Daikyoh was behind Yohane, the Silver Arms floated by Alumi’s side, and the blue dragon spirit Meguru glided around all of them, stopping behind Kuuhaku.

“Really? We don’t need to be this serious!” Hana jumped around, but an orange appeared in his vision. In fact, the orange was attached to a hand, which was attached to an arm, which was attached to a person.

Hana smiled. “Hey!”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me, Asakura,” Rikka Orenji growled and dropped the orange into Hana’s hands. “And also, you reek of sweat! Why do you always smell so nasty?!”

“S-sorry…”

Seeing his girlfriend always brought a smile to his face, even when she scolded him. He turned around to face her. “So uh, what is it?”

“That youkai - she’s definitely dangerous.”

“Err, how did you know?”

“Alumi-chan and Yohane-kun already told me beforehand.”

Hana looked accusingly at his mother-mandated fiancee and father-side cousin, who only laughed. “Eeh, that’s not fair?!” So dependable, tch, tch…

“Hey, may I remind you, Hana?” Orenji’s eyes squinted, and Hana imagined himself to be in the middle of an interrogation room, with Orenji’s spiky hair growing long and tangly like octopus arms. “We agreed that any investigation is upon _my_ approval. That’s because I used to investigate urban legends too, right?”

Recollection came to his mind. _Oh, right._ “Y-yeah… I remember…”

“Besides, these soul swipers can be of any level, but those who become notorious like this youkai legend, they are on the dangerous level. That’s how they become a legend.”

Hana stepped back. Orenji was right. He then took a deep breath. “Some chick who looks like a snake, right? Well… I hope I won’t need Amidamaru yet.”

“We can take care of this even without your help, Hana-boy!” Silver Wing of the Silver Arms squawked.

“Let’s hope that does happen.”

Orenji then chuckled. “Well, since you volunteered, Mr. Silver Wing, I put you and Alumi in charge of doing the rounds! Take Yohane and Kuu with you!”

The group agreed.

“And,” Hana asked, “What do we do, Orenji?”

“Well, we do the obvious.”

And the obvious was, of course, to find Yona and Men. Hana and Orenji left.

As the group of three and their guardian spirits surveyed the area, Kuuhaku suddenly stopped and gasped. “Wait!” Alumi and Yohane turned to him.

“What’s wrong, Nature Boy?” “Is there something else on your mind, Kuuhaku-kun?”

“The soul swiper we’re looking for… do they target a specific school, or…?”

Yohane took out the photos again, and the group examined them.

“The squirts are wearing different uniforms,” Daikyoh observed.

“Which means they’re from different schools,” concluded Kuuhaku, “And that our enemy is smart and resourceful enough.”

“But these pictures are from Funbari residents!”

“…then, our enemy has the means to go around different places, but only in Funbari. And Funbari is a small place that you can easily tour if you have a bike.”

Yohane shivered, but he observed something else: “But see, everyone’s wearing different uniforms!”

“And none of them are from Shinra,” Alumi said, “So, that goes…”

Meguru gave a weak cry, and Kuuhaku’s eyes darkened. “Yona might be in danger.”

* * *

Speak of the little angel! On the other side of town, Yona and Men had stopped by a crepe stand in a park. They sat upon a bench and began eating. Men got a chocolate strawberry crepe, and Yona had an apple cream crepe. Bason and Amidamaru couldn’t keep themselves from giggling and adoring their charges, hence they opted to keep distance, as not to disturb the children’s little playdate. Shamash floated nearby, guarding the two just in case.

It was pretty sunny today, just perfect for a hangout after school. A few clouds drifted here and there, and the park was mostly filled with foliage and open space. The crepe guy was already starting to pack up, and the other passersby in the park were beginning to head home.

Things were looking pretty well.

“Men, what kind of Math do you study?” asked Yona.

Men thought for a moment. “…well, it’s advanced… we’re doing matrices and functions.”

“…what’s that?”

“Er, complex stuff for us senior high school students.”

“Is that like the kind Nii-chan studies?”

“R-right.” Of course. Men had advanced to Hana’s grade, after all.

“Can you help him study? He’s been surprisingly really bad in Math lately. Even Suzuki-nii-san and Orenji-nee-chan find it difficult to help him. I think he’s not used to this kind of Math yet.”

Men’s eyes shifted, not sure if he could make this promise. “Well, actually…”

“Awwww, eating ice cream out here with your girlfriend? So corny.”

At the rude comment, Yona squeaked in discomfort. Men whipped his head around, ready to make war with whichever stranger it was, but then, he found a kid with a bowl cut coming into the park.

“So what’s it to you to make impolite comments like that? And for the record, we’re just friends!”

“You guys got the crepes, huh? I always thought they tasted lame.”

Shamash tensed, and so did Men and Yona. Amidamaru and Bason drifted towards their charges. While the kid seemed perfectly ordinary, there was something off-putting about him.

“…I don’t feel good about him,” Yona whispered.

“Okay. Stay behind me.” Men reached into his bag and stood. The stranger was definitely bad news if Yona said it so.

The other kid wore a uniform they did not recognize. He was alone, walking with his bike next to him, and he had nothing on him except a fishing rod, so the threat must be the unseen. They could faintly see the spirit lagging behind him, but why was Yona so scared?

“You guys are from Shinra Private Academy, right?”

“Yeah?” Men clicked his tongue. “How does that matter to you?”

“Wow, so rude! I just wanted to ask! And here I thought I could tell you how cool you are! …then again, it’d be hard for me to even say that looking at your lame swirly hairdo!”

Though irritated from the boy’s words, Men had other priorities now. He tried to look at the figure behind Bowl Cut. Men could see something, but it was certainly hiding. Why?

“I don’t think you guys would be the kind to have friends.”

Men felt his hair swirl coil up in annoyance. “What an asinine presumption to make about people you barely know.”

“It reeks off you.”

Before Men could react, a snake-like figure shot out from behind the Bowl Cut boy and darted towards Yona! It grabbed her—

“And kids like you?”

—and she shrieked.

”Really make me feel sick.”

Men yelled “Bason, in guandao!” as he jumped into action. Yona’s shield barrier came up before the figure could bite her head, and Men attacked the thing, pushing it off Yona. He pulled her to her feet and ran away from the boy, holding his weapon before him, with Shamash quickly following after them.

“Hoh?” The strange boy tipped his head. “No way. You’re like me too?” He sighed. “…man. I knew I should’ve gone for that wimpy, lonely third grader first.”

Men gritted his teeth. So he’s targeted innocent kids before? “You’re _sick!_ ”

“Guess this one’s gonna take a bit longer. Hebionna-san, I’m sorry, but I need your help with this one.”

The figure properly formed before them, revealing itself to be a snake-woman youkai. “Why, of course! These look particularly tasty!”

The boy held out his fishing rod and summoned the youkai into his hands. “Hebionna-san, in fishing rod!”

Men moved in to attack, but so quickly, the fishing hook wrapped around his weapon and restrained it. He dragged the line towards him, but it only extended towards Yona, activating her furyoku shield barrier once more.

Yikes. This wasn’t looking too good.

* * *

Luckily for Men and Yona, Amidamaru had darted off in search of Hana. The warrior met his young master and the boy’s girlfriend not too far from the park.

Having sensed the danger his sister was in, Hana yelled, “Where’s Yona?!”

“Come with me, Hana-dono!” Amidamaru requested.

Hana was about to dart off to his sister’s rescue, but Orenji caught him by his shoulders.

“Oy!”

“I’m betting Men can hold the fort well, so listen to me first.”

Despite his feelings, Hana stilled.

“I bet Kuu’s figured it all out, so you help Men fend our youkai swiper off. I’m gonna try to get all the civilians away from this area, so tell anyone you meet on the way that the police want them inside for security measures, got it?”

“Police want everyone inside; got it.”

“Good. Now go!”

Orenji pushed him, and Hana dashed off with Amidamaru.

* * *

Meanwhile, Men’s heart beat loudly, panic rising steadily.

“Punishment of the 50 Holy Blades!”

Once freed from the hook, he unleashed an attack inescapable to most others. _Strike-strike-strike-strike!_ But the other boy’s body bent in such an eerie, inhuman way, dodging every single attack there was. Even Bason gasped in shock.

Men charged in, and his opponent met the guandao with the rod. They exchanged blows here and there, and the kid’s bike had fallen to the side, snapped in half and filled with cuts, but Men could not land even a single graze on his opponent. The hook almost cut in towards his face, and Men leapt backward.

There had to be some way for Men to reach his opponent! Once again, he charged towards the stranger, but the hook rounded about him and grazed his own legs. Men’s legs went jelly and he crashed to the ground.

“Yes!”

“What did you do to me?!”

It was as if his legs were literally jelly now! No bone, no muscle, just a layer of skin covering fat. It was nothing his Corpore Sano technique with Shamash could heal, but Shamash was only good for healing.

Yona’s furyoku, while useful for her one-person shield, had its limits too. The opponent turned his focus on her, and her screams and squeaks got louder and louder. The hook hit her shield multiple times, and her heightening distress easily weakened her focus on the shield. Men tried to inch towards her slowly, but the other boy noticed and flung the hook towards Men’s face. Had Men not shielded himself with the guandao, he’d be full jelly now.

Ugh! The strange boy’s fishing rod could reach Yona so easily with its snakehead hook any second now. The problem was, healing also meant Men would have to lower his own defenses. How annoying! The other boy had done all of these without moving from his position.

The one good thing was that Amidamaru was no longer around. Men had to distract his opponent. Maybe even buy some time for reinforcements.

“…y-you,” he snarled, “Why are you doing this?”

“Whaaaat?” the other boy whined, and he withdrew his fishing rod. “When you weak kids band together, you like to prey upon strong kids like me.”

Men squinted. This boy couldn’t be serious. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“I’m only protecting myself from you guys. Hebionna-san helps me do that, and in turn, I find her kids to eat to help her get stronger. The weak should perish!”

“You’re insane!”

Then the youkai sneered, “Oh, Tomo, why preach to this boy? He clearly knows nothing about your pain, our pain!”

“Oh, I suppose everyone has different views.”

Tomo, huh. Men clicked his tongue twice and opened his mouth, but then Yona cried, “That’s wrong!” _Yona, no! Don’t say anything!_

Tomo then scowled, his voice lowering. “You weaklings only know how to beg. To cry. And to say that it’s wrong!”

He swung his rod and the reel spun! Men cried out, regretting he did not heal! Now, all hope was lost, and Yona would—

“Get away from Yona, you punk! Amidamaru in Futsu-no-Mitama!”

A bright light almost blinded the children’s visions, and in came Hana wielding his OS sword! The jagged broadsword brimmed with energy, and he lunged straight into the snakehead hook.

“Stray Maw Hack!”

“ _AAAAARRRGGGGHHH!_ ”

“ _Nii-chan!_ ”

The youkai screeched as a frenzied Hana repeatedly slashed about. The ground caved in under Hana’s attacks, and the astonished Tomo fell back and squealed. _Good! Show it to him!_

As Hana engaged their opponent, Men fused Shamash into his guandao and healed. Once his legs started working again, he ran to the fearful Yona. How awful! She was cold and trembling in his arms!

“Yona, are you all right?” he asked.

She squeaked out, “I-I’m fine… but Nii-chan…”

“He’s strong; he can take care of this. So, stay behind me, okay?”

“Mm!”

Men turned around and held his weapon out, switching his guardian ghosts again. With Hana here, he only had to focus on defending Yona.

“Don’t hurt me!” Tomo then yelled, “I’m just a kid! Please don’t hurt me!”

“You hurt my sister!” Hana shouted back. He pushed the kid back with every swing of his blade. He wanted to kill the younger boy, and he could kill this punk if he unleashed another Stray Maw Hack. This bully squeals way too much. He should pay for—

Amidamaru reprimanded, “Hana-dono!”

“You… you…!” Hana froze. No, no. This wasn’t worth it. This wasn’t right. The boy before him already had multiple gashes across his skin, and the rod was in no shape to defend against a sword. “Get away from my sister, and never show your face around here ever again.”

Hana sternly glared at his opponent - it’s just a kid. He’d been backed against a flower bed and was cowering behind his bent rod. He’d still learn. Hana then glanced at the holes on the ground, at the branches and leaves that scattered around them. He’s done enough damage for the day. His teammates would come and help him do the rest of the damage control.

His rage having waned, Hana turned around, but the kid’s rod swung.

The fishing hook grabbed his arm, and out came the snake-woman. Her polished fingernails scratched Hana’s skin and his arm went limp. The Futsu-no-Mitama dropped to the ground with a dull clang.

“ _Don’t mock me, Mister._ ”

Hana hoped to grab his sword with his other arm, but the fishing line already wrapped around that remaining good arm. Hana swiveled about as the snake-woman turned his arm into jelly once more, and he crashed to the ground next to the Futsu-no-Mitama, yelling profanities. Hope once again slipped away.

The youkai laughed. “Tomo’s right, Tiger Boy! Now, you’re done for!”

Yona covered her eyes and Men’s heart pounded more loudly. _HANA!_

“Not in a million years! Bane Wheel!”

But in came Yohane, thrusting his umbrella towards the boy. _BOOM!_ Soil blew around. Somehow, Tomo dodged, and he was now on his feet.

“W-what…?!”

“ _En garde!_ ”

Yohane held his umbrella like a fencing sabre and exchanged blows with Tomo’s rod. Thrust, swing, parry, thrust. Yohane’s eyes blazed behind his glasses the way the afternoon sun glared against them. With Yohane’s fury and speed, Tomo could only back away. Defend, defend, hold out!

“Yohane!” Men called, “Finish this!”

And the snake-woman cried, “Tomo! We should think about this!”

With the next thrust, Tomo found the chance to slide underneath Yohane and run towards the crepe stand.

_Oh no. Civilians._

The scared staff member trembled behind the counter, no doubt very confused about the events. Just as Tomo was about to reach him, a long whip tripped the boy’s legs. Tomo fell on his face and dropped his rod. As he struggled to stand, a flash of silver landed above him and held him down.

“Hey, there!” Alumi chirped, decked out in full Silver Arms armor, and held out a wad of cash to the vendor. “If we buy all your ice cream for today, will you leave and never speak of it?”

The worker looked at her with furrowed brows, and with trembling hands, he took the cash and ran for his life, screaming about.

“I’m so glad that’s Orenji’s money and not mine…” Alumi muttered, then turned to Tomo. “Hey, kid! Have any grown-up told you that you should take care of your own mess?”

“Yeah!” Silver Wing agreed. “And you as a shaman should know better! Be thankful that Miss Orenji takes care of everything for shamans like you!”

Tomo struggled to stand yet again, in vain.

“Tomo! We were so close!” the snake-woman complained, “Stand up! Fight! Escape! Aren’t you a strong kid?!”

“…wait, our opponent is a kid?” Alumi blurted out in realization. “Our opponent is a kid???”

Then Tomo cried - cried with actual tears - “Y-you’re right! I’m not very strong yet, that’s why I asked Hebionna-san to protect me.”

“W-what? Why?”

Then Men yelled, “Miss Alumi! Get away from him! _NOW!_ ”

Alumi turned around. Tomo had reached for his rod and swung it again, aiming straight for the itako.

“ _Kanshou!_ ”

A deep voice and a scaly figure cut in. Tomo shrieked in surprise as his fishing line recoiled away from his target. He looked up - the sun was unforgiving, but he could make out a shape of a dragon.

“Thanks for the save, Nature Boy, Meguru-san!” Alumi giggled.

Kuuhaku gave her a thumbs up, while Meguru chirped back happily.

Kuuhaku and Alumi landed nearby, and Yohane stood in front of Yona. Having been healed by Men, Hana got up and held his Futsu-no-Mitama once more. He and his friends circled the young boy. Five… six against one should control the situation now.

Then their opponent swung his rod.

“Duck!” Men warned, and his friends prepared themselves for the fight—

But their opponent took his chance to reel off a manhole cover and squeeze into the sewers.

“What?” Hana growled. “ _What?!_ ”

“Oh, just wonderful,” Kuuhaku drawled. “Of all the things I saw him do, I wasn’t expecting that. Meguru, follow him!”

Meguru nodded and gave chase. Most of the other guardian spirits followed Meguru to make a chain for their respective shaman partners to follow.

“Men, get Yona to safety first,” Hana commanded. “I’m sure the kid won’t follow her anymore.”

“Okay!” Men took Yona’s hand and the two ran off, with Shamash and Bason trailing after them.

Then Hana turned around. “Alumi, survey the area for more civilians and tell them to yeet off!”

Alumi gave him a salute and she ran off.

The teen boys followed Silver Wing, who lagged behind to assure the gang could catch up.

“Nice save, buddy,” Hana complimented Yohane, who chuckled. “My arms just went… _PLOP!_ And I couldn’t feel a thing. They were so gooey and wiggley-wiggley on my sides!”

Kuuhaku’s eyes narrowed.

“So what you got?” Hana asked Kuuhaku, “A kid literally targeting other kids! Do you think he knows something?”

“Not sure. But, as for what I think… he’s not as innocent as he claims to be. He targets unknowing kids and makes himself to be the victim in all of these. We shouldn’t let him off the hook. He knows what he’s doing. He may be just a kid, but he’s smart.”

“And why exactly would the soul swipers recruit a kid like that?”

“Heck if I know. It doesn’t make sense… unless their target from the start were kids like Yona. Kids with potential to be strong spirit guardians, or perhaps, maybe even soul swipers.”

Hana grimaced at the thought. His little sister, becoming one of them, an empty soul for the soul swiper’s use, or a soul swiper herself? Not a chance! Yona was too good for that!

* * *

On another side of Funbari, a manhole cover opened, and a boy squeezed himself out into the open. An empty lot! Thank goodness! Tomo heaved himself onto the grass. How unlucky… He really should’ve gone for that other lone kid. He got too greedy!

“Tomo!” said Hebionna, “They have to be weak alone. We just have to surprise them, then I could still make do with their souls!”

“Y-yes… yes…” Tomo gasped out, “One at a time… one… just one at a time!”

He looked up.

He screamed.

Tomo found himself cornered by an angered dragon, two swordsmen, and several American animals. Even the youkai trembled inside the fishing rod.

“W-what do you want?!” Tomo yelled. “I’ve got nothing, nothing! I just want to be strong!”

“Save your breath, kid!” Daikyoh laughed. “We’ve got you now!”

“ _He’s right!_ ”

The Asakura cousins ran into the scene and fused their spirits into their respective weapons.

“Amidamaru in Futsu-no-Mitama!” “Oboro Daikyoh in umbrella!”

Tomo squeaked as his hands gripped his rod. He swung as wildly as he could. Hana fended the hook off several times, but he could not get closer to Tomo.

“Hey, Yohane, any ideas?!”

“We have to deflect the hook as far as possible! I’ll give you an opening!”

Hana nodded, and Yohane took over defending and diverting the hook about. Hana focused his furyoku onto his sword.

“Hana-kun! Now!”

“Claw of the Celestial Beast!” Hana unleashed his attack, swinging his sword thrice, but all it did was make the reel line dance more wildly in the wind. “…oops.”

“I’m coming! Silver Armor, up!”

The cousins cowered behind the newly-arrived Alumi as she defended against the hook. Her shield glowed brighter with every hit it took, but it stood well against the attacks. Opposite them, the devastated Tomo hastily swung again and again.

Sensing that their opponent had run out of strategy, Hana calmed himself and turned to Yohane. “Okay, change of plans. Yohane, any chance you could… actually deflect the attack?”

His cousin smiled. “Sure! Just enough to disable him for a bit, right?”

“Yeah.”

Alumi chirped. “Ready, boys!”

Hana held onto Alumi’s waist, ready to get her out of the way.

“NOW!”

Hana grabbed Alumi and rolled to the grass. Yohane rushed in and opened his umbrella. 

“Scourge Negation!”

And the attack ricocheted back against the young boy. Tomo shielded himself, and the inevitable happened. Blood gushed out, and both his arms plopped down. His youkai partner screeched.

“No! No! My pain!” he cried out, “You don’t understand! This is all for me!”

In despair, Tomo tried to reach for his rod with his feet—

“Hama-Ya!”

—and the rod snapped in half from Kuuhaku’s attack. Tomo shook in fear, knowing that his jig was up. He dropped to his knees and stared at the group before him.

“Thanks for the distraction, guys,” Kuuhaku remarked as Meguru chirped from within his tuning fork trident.

“Please spare me! Please spare me!” Tomo pleaded. “I only did what I could! He said if I did this, the world would be a better place!”

“…right. Who told you this?”

“I don’t know his name! He just appeared in my email and my email reached out for me, and the next thing I knew I could see ghosts!”

Kuuhaku glared.

“Please, spare me, I beg of you, Mister!”

As Tomo pleaded over and over, the youkai snuck out of the broken rod. She tried to crawl away, but Hana’s sword struck her tail and she wailed in pain.

“Going somewhere?” he asked.

The youkai turned around. “W-wait, please spare me! If, if you want, I could be an ally. I’m strong enough! I’ve been around since the time of the great Onmyouji Asakura Hao!”

Hana rolled his eyes. Was he just going to let this youkai get away, after it targeted his precious little sister? After it scratched him and turned his arm into jelly? After it gave him and his friends one bad time trying to contain the situation, and roughed up the park in front of a crepe stand vendor, and even tried to get away from them? _Nope!_ “I don’t care. Alumi!”

“Coming~”

Alumi’s guardian spirits glided to a formation. Hana stepped back, and a pentagram formed on the ground. Kuuhaku scooped the kid up and plopped him down next to a smiling Yohane, who had a strange book with a pentagram in his hands.

“Hebionna, was it?” Alumi said, “I’m afraid your time’s up.”

Yohane opened the book and handed it to Alumi. She began to chant, and her blue itako beads floated around her.

“O spirit lost in the realm of the living, granted the powerful name of Hebionna, heed the call of the heavens and its divine will. Reject the call of flesh and earth, reject atrocious desire. Close your eyes and cover your ears. Calm yourself unto eternal slumber.”

“No, wait!” the youkai begged, “They unsealed me! I don’t know who they are, but they wanted souls—”

“Reverse Kuchiyose: Sealing Pentagram!”

The youkai screamed and screamed and screamed as the book sucked her in… until she was no more but a page spread of sutras and an illustration on the book. The book closed itself and a belt bound it, ensuring that the youkai would indeed find itself in deep sleep, until next time.

Defeated, Tomo fell to his side. Just then, Men arrived with Orenji.

“What’d I miss?” Orenji asked.

Hana grinned as he produced her orange from his pocket and tossed it back to her. “We saved the day, some dude, and my sister! …the park’s a bit damaged, though.”

“That’s good enough.”

“Anyone need healing?” Men asked. Kuuhaku motioned to Tomo and Men snarled. “ _Ugh._ ”

“Let me make it better for you.” Orenji went up to Tomo and knocked him out cold with a quick swipe. “Done.”

While they were enemies, Men had an obligation to heal wounded people, and the Flower Gang wasn’t a brute to leave their opponent in pieces like this. They, the Flower Gang had claimed victory once more!

The Flower Gang —

Asakura Hana the Tiger, and Amidamaru the Samurai;

Kuuhaku of 37 Urban Legends, and Meguru the Water Dragon;

Alumi Niumbirch the Itako, and the Silver Arms of the North American Patch Tribe;

Asakura Yohane the Swift, and Oboro Daikyoh the Vagabond Swordsman;

Tao Men the Genius, and Shamash the Divine and Bason the Chinese General;

and Rikka Orenji the Non-Offensive Support,

— all gathered around after taking care of a soul swiper once more. Thankfully for all of them, the kid was an easy villain to deal with, despite his threat. However, they didn’t get anything new out of their encounter and, like all the other times, there wasn’t anything they could do about the lost souls… for now. At the very least, they were en route to stopping a heinous syndicate, one soul swiper at a time.

Men kept a wary eye on the unconscious (and healed) boy. Kuuhaku and Hana looked around for any more potential witnesses. Yohane stuffed away the book into his backpack. Alumi high-fived Silver Arms. Orenji placed an arm around Hana’s waist and gathered everyone’s accounts. Everyone's respective spirit guardians greeted each other with variations of 'Otsukare!' for a job well done. Funbari was safe again. For now.

* * *

From a nearby roof, four figures watched the Flower Gang. An ability that went by the name ‘Holographic Lies’ not only tricked the eyes of those who try to peek behind it, but also their senses. Not even the likes of Asakura Hana and the former vagabond Kuuhaku would guess it was in play.

As for the Flower Gang’s spectators, the sun only set and the wind blew firmly. It was yet another day of failure.

“Ugh, I knew it…” one said, “I really shouldn’t have counted on that kid.”

“You recruited a kid who barely knows what he’s doing!” the girl next to him retorted. “Try the older kids, dummy! You trusted this one too much! Leave the psych game to Ageha-sensei! And maybe use your common sense a little?!”

The girl continued to berate the boy on his performance as he silently hid behind his smartphone, which was playing the hologram to cover them up. The other boy in the group continued to watch their opponents closely as his lips played with a lollipop stick.

“Ageha-chan,” he said, “What should we tell Otou-san? We lost Hebionna-san too!”

The woman they called Ageha tipped her head. “We confirmed that Hana-kun’s sister has a lot of potential. You certainly saw that barrier earlier, right?”

The trio nodded. “Riiiight.” “Yep!” “Uuuuh-huh?”

“Hana-kun’s new ability too…” Ageha mused, chuckling. “That Stray Maw Hack will certainly prove to be trouble. Try not to target his sister. We can easily deal with the others.”

The second boy whined. “Ageha-saaaan, why not attack now?”

The sun shone on Ageha’s glasses, and on her lips played a coy smile - the smile of a woman with secrets and hidden wisdom. She chuckled once more and her subordinates stiffened. She was truly a woman to be feared and respected. She did not fear losing this fight, for the battle was not yet over.

“Well, they’ve been gone for too long, Toshiro-kun. Their parents will wonder about their absence, and we shouldn’t waste our time either. Do you understand that, Nishiki-kun, Ashika-chan?”

Her subordinates hung their heads low.

“Though, I’m glad that this only proves that, even when we target innocent kids, the Shaman Kings won’t mind at all. Why do they never notice our suffering? Why do they lay still even as these children suffer? Whatever it is they’re occupied with, we must certainly be insignificant garbage in their eyes to leave us up to our fates.”

“Right.” “Yeah! Death to the Shaman Kings!” “Death to the Shaman Kings!”

“That’s right. Come, Shinchuu.”

Ageha turned around with the poise of an elegant woman from a faded photograph. The droopy, winged figure that followed her obediently fused with her clothes and became wings.

“Let’s go, everyone! There’s still many more souls to be swiped out there.”

The cloaked trio readied their weapons and guardian spirits, and one by one hopped off to follow their leader into the sky.

* * *

Night drew over Funbari Hill. The Flower Gang sans Orenji retired to Funbari Onsen, Hana’s house. Anna welcomed them, then a trio of ladies whisked Yohane away. Alumi rolled her eyes, while Men went ahead to check on Yona. Hana gave his mother a casual salute, while Kuuhaku gave her a slight bow.

“Hana. Kuuhaku. If you don’t have anything else to do, go help Tamao set the table,” Anna ordered. 

“Sure thing, Mom!”

“Yes, Anna-san…!”

With that, the two teens tossed their bags into Hana’s room and proceeded to the dining hall. As the duo went about their task, Hana heard squeals and laughter. “…Eh?” 

Ah, yes, it was just the Hanagumi waitresses. They surrounded Yohane, as usual, asking him question after question and gushing about him. Yohane, as per usual, didn’t really know what to do with the attention. 

“You must’ve been very strong!” “Kyaa!” “Kyaa!”

“I, uh… thank you!” Yohane sheepishly replied.

“Did they try to hurt you?” asked Marion.

“Oh no, I was able to deflect their attack—”

“Deflection abilities? So versatile!” chirped Matisse. 

“Just as expected of Yohane-sama!” Kanna chuckled. “You’re sure to be as strong as Hao-sama one day.”

“Ahaha…”

Hana shook his head as he placed the bowls on the table. 

“What’s up with that, again?” asked Kuuhaku, as his gaze followed to where Hana was looking. 

“Oh, you know.” Hana scowled. “They think that since Yohane apparently seems to look like Uncle God, means that he’ll become their lil’ mini Asakura Hao or something.”

“Seriously?” Kuuhaku’s brows furrowed as he placed another set of chopsticks. He’d never understand this matter about AsaHao, or whatever his name was.

“Orenji tells me it’s a case of a… a.. replacement gold dish?”

“Gold dish??”

“I think she meant ‘replacement goldfish’, boys.”

The boys turned to see Alumi entering the room.

“Don’t mind me~” She waved a hand at the two. “Anna-sama just wanted to see more about our findings about the youkai of the day, so I’m just here to get Yohane and save him from his flock of admirers.” She winked and joined the Hanagumi.

Kuuhaku then turned to Hana. “I think she likes Yohane.”

“Naw, I feel she enjoys bullying him more than us.”

And at that moment, the duo thought, ‘Thank you for your sacrifice, Yohane-sama.’

Then Hana’s phone beeped. He grinned as he whisked it out and read the message… and he gasped, and he pouted, and he whined.

Kuuhaku raised his brow. “What’s up?”

“Orenji!” Hana fell to his knees and showed Kuuhaku the message. In it was a picture of Orenji stuffing her mouth with takoyaki, as her dormmates threw some wacky takoyaki party in their house.

“…a takoyaki party?”

“Don’t! No! Don’t tell me! Uwaaah!” Hana lay on the floor, still holding his phone out. “Why must you betray me, Orenji?!”

“…then tell her to save some takoyaki for you?”

“AH! You’re right!” Hana jumped to his feet and started typing.

And by some miracle, they heard, felt certain footsteps approaching. Kuuhaku gave Hana an alarmed look and Hana panicked. He sent a message back and shoved his phone into his pocket as the door slid open.

“You’re done?” Anna asked.

“Yes Ma’am!” Hana gave her a salute.

Kuuhaku nodded. “Y-yeah, we just got finished.”

“Alright. Now Hana, help your Uncle Ryu in the kitchen.”

“What??” Hana whined, but, what a mistake! His mother narrowed her gaze at him. He turned around to ask for backup, but Kuuhaku had slid out of the room like the shrimp he was. Uh-oh, i-it’s getting cold. The dropping temperature signalled doom for Hana.

“Asakura Hana. Are you going to complain about something I want you to do?” 

“N-no!”

“Are you not a member of this house, and I not the manager of this house?”

“No! I am a member! You are the manager!”

“So why is it I feel like you have some objections to such arrangements?”

Hana waved his arms in panic. “No, no! It’s just, I thought Dad was supposed to help Uncle Ryu today…!” Speaking of his Dad, where was he??

“Well, your father isn’t here yet. He got summoned to the GS to speak with H… with your _uncle_.” Displeasure laced Anna’s tone at the last word. “But, if you haven’t noticed, we have many mouths to feed and people are getting hungry. I’m not going to wait and put dinner on hold until he gets back. Do you understand that?”

“Y-yes Ma’am!”

“If you have the guts to complain, then I’m sure you have the guts to take on a harsher training module with Alumi starting tomorrow.”

_Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh!_

“Especially that you got your little sister in trouble… _and if it were not for Men…_ ”

Chills ran up Hana’s spine — “ _I’ll go help Uncle Ryu now!_ ” — and he ran towards the kitchen for his life. God… god really hated him, didn’t he?

* * *

Within the heart of the Great Spirits, two twin brothers conversed about - or rather, the younger one was making a report to the older one about recent events.

“And then Hana lands an attack with his new technique where he goes: _whoosh, fwash, swish, swish, whoosha!_ He frenzies everywhere like Lee Pailong and—!” The younger one waved his arms about in slashing and stabbing motions, his shoulder-length, wavy hair swishing about. “ _FWAAAH!_ Their opponent stumbles backwards—”

“I think I can make do without the sound effects and hand movements, Yoh?” The older one hummed in exasperation as he sat on his throne with his legs crossed and one hand on his cheek, much like an idle king amusedly watching the events in his kingdom, except there was less amusement. 

Yoh pouted. “But they add so much to the story, Nii-san!” he insisted.

“For the last time, I summoned you here to merely report on what’s been going on, not dally around and play-act like a child. Also, don’t call me that. I am Asakura Hao, the Shaman King; Lord Of the Spirits. No more, no less.”

“Aww…” Yoh’s pout grew bigger, but Hao paid no attention.

“So what did they find out this time?”

“They found that their opponent was using the help of a pretty dangerous youkai to collect more souls for his employer. There’s something about recruitment on the Internet.”

“That’s resourceful, but that doesn’t help much to me. I want to know who this employer is.”

Hao sighed. Somehow, no matter how much he tried digging into the issue himself, he could not find anything regarding this obscure soul-swiping movement. It didn’t make sense. He was the King of Spirits! Weren’t gods like him supposed to have access to knowing everything?? 

He’d honestly heard of the soul swipers before during his time alive on Earth, but never really paid mind to their activities. How could he? He was thinking that becoming Shaman King would give him the power to handle people like them regardless. They didn’t even have the guts to interrupt the Shaman Tournaments.

But now, they were being pests. Ones that were hard to catch, even.

“They did mention something else though.”

“Hm? And what would that be?”

“That youkai the boy was working with? The kids mentioned that she knew about you. Being around during your time as an Onmyouji…?”

Hao shook his head. “A lot of youkai knew of me years ago, Yoh. Did she have a name?”

“She’s a bone-stealing snake kind, remember? ‘Hebionna’…?”

Ah. He remembered that name. He had sealed her spirit before, but if she had been released…

Something clicked in Hao’s mind. Yoh watched his brother smile. One that he knew too well that he would give to his opponents when he noticed something peculiar about them. 

“How interesting. It seems that whoever these people are, they’re even going so far as to acquire and unseal deadly spirits to assist them in their business…” The king’s eyes narrowed. “Even going so far as to undo my work.”

“Eh? What do you mean, Nii-san?”

Hao chose to ignore the nickname this time. “Yoh, have you noticed anything particular about the youkai the soul swipers are using to assist them?”

Yoh blinked at his brother, and then went into thought. His hand going under his chin as he pondered. “Beyond that we only knew of these things happening after you came into power?”

“Or that a lot of the powerful youkai your son and his friends encounter are spirits that I had contained and sealed away years ago?”

Yoh chuckled. “Sounds like they have some sort of vendetta. Would you then take this as a statement against your rule?”

Hao laughed. “I won’t say yes just yet, but it’s a strong possibility!”

Silence steered the brothers’ conversation, but it was soon broken by the sound of Yoh’s grumbling stomach. Hao sighed.

“Ahah, sorry about that!” the younger twin said, smiling sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “I guess I might be hungry now…”

“No kidding.”

“It might be time for supper. I better go. Anna might think that I might’ve been gone for too long.” Then Yoh gasped and his eyes widened in panic. “Oh no! I almost forgot that I had to help Ryu with dinner tonight!” 

Hao chuckled at his brother’s distress. What a silly, forgetful twin he had. “Go on with that. You’ve reported enough to me.” Hao smiled. “You better get going before she gets mad~”

“Uwaaah, I hope not…!”

Hao laughed, then he went quiet. “…Yoh, aren’t you at least mad for me not rescuing your little girl from that soul swiper?”

Huh. “Mmmmm, that didn’t cross my mind at all. But everything worked out fine, so, you don’t really need to worry.” Yoh shrugged. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around next time, Nii-san.”

Hao’s amused grin slightly dwindled. “You’re not going to give up on calling me that, are you?”

“Nope!” Yoh shook his head cheerfully. “Shaman King or not, you’re family. And I’m gonna keep reminding you about that.”

“…”

“…You know, we’re planning a celebratory feast tonight, for another job well done for the kids. I could have a seat ready if you want to come by…” 

Hao shook his head. “That’s a nice offer, but maybe next time.” His younger twin had been doing this a lot lately - doing things like inviting him over or calling him ‘Nii-san’. But such things weren’t necessary. He was Shaman king. He didn’t have the time for such human things. Such things like that were pointless.

Besides, he could stop by regardless anytime he wanted. He could even communicate any time, any place he wanted - personal appearance, cat envoys, Opacho or even Matamune as representative, or even through messages in the clouds. “I have some things to attend to.”

“Alright then.” Yoh smiled, his little sadness apparent. “Well, until next time, Nii-san.” With that, the younger twin vanished.

Once again alone with his thoughts, Hao’s mind went over Yoh’s reports again. 

The anti-Shaman King movement…  
The objection against his rule…  
The ever-mysterious soul swipers…

How would he ever push through with his plans of change for the world if shamans like them tried to tarnish his good, reputable name? How would the world ever change if there were obstacles neither he nor his other half couldn’t squash or figure out? Or was this a statement from the stars, that people would take change into their own hands if the Shaman Kings did nothing?

As he pondered about, Hao sensed something within the stars. The cosmos was telling him something big was coming; he just wasn’t sure what or when. Cursed this fairly new godhood be…

An image of a figure cloaked in patterned cloth flashed in his mind. The memory of their words echoed in his head.

_“Will you be able to move the hand of Fate, Douji Asaha?”_

The god scoffed at the question. Of course he would! He didn’t wait for a thousand years just to be thwarted by just another challenge. His rule was certain. Fate favored him by making him Shaman King. Hao was no fool to be a slave to Fate yet again.

With a wave of his hand, he conjured up a holographic screen showing his nephew and his friends going about their shenanigans. Ah, so naive. _So small._

Soon, one way or another, the time would come when their real strength would be put to the test… wouldn’t it?

**Author's Note:**

>  **Notes from Anne:** Heya! This is admittedly my first time writing a super-packed action scenario, and I had to rewrite the action scenes at least twice or thrice!
> 
> So, welcome to the canon of Ouji no Jidai! Translated as "The Prince's Epoch", OJ is a different interpretation of the future after the SF, two of its major components being Hana having more friends, and Yoh and Anna being at home, alive, and guiding their son.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this verse as much as we did. Much thanks to Zarah too for drawing all these lovely art. Toodles!
> 
>  **Notes from Zarah:** Yooo! Welcome to our Shaman King fan sequal: Ouji no Jidai! Me and my friend had a lot of fun working with this, and it’s the first time I’ve co-written (or even written) anything like this. The illustrations were done by me with some help from Anne!
> 
> After months of discussing and brainstorming, we wanted to try showing our own interpretation of how Hana’s story would go if certain things had been different (with the SK main characters having a bit more presence too!). And what better day to post this than on the day our fiery porcupine was born! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed what you’ve read so far! And Happy Birthday, Hana!!
> 
> (Extra note: If any of you were looking for Ibuki, I’m sorry that you weren’t able to find him in this one. But I guarantee that he will appear in future works related to this project!)


End file.
